Google’s original Pixel gets a speed test to show how four Android versions affect performance

Ben Schoon | Mar 26 2019 - 8:24 am PT

It came as a surprise earlier this month when Google revealed that it would be providing an official update to Android Q for the original Pixel phones. Now, a speed test has hit YouTube to show how all of these updates affect the aging device.

The original Google Pixel and Pixel XL first launched back in 2016 and, typically speaking, Android phones of that age start to slow down at this point. However, Google’s first self-branded flagships have held up quite well. Now, Gary Explains has posted a YouTube video testing the speed of the Pixel on four different versions of Android.

Using the same Pixel flashed to Android 7.1.2, Android 8.1, Android 9.0, and the new Android Q beta, we can get a bit of insight on how performance is affected by the different releases. The results? Somewhat unsurprisingly, the device has similar results on each release. Android N finishes the custom test in 2:50 while Android 9.0 Pie comes in second at 2:52. Android O and Q both finish at 2:53.

Of course, a test like this only tells us so much. In real-world usage, the daily use of the device and the load of having dozens of apps installed and running may affect performance. However, it’s interesting to see that three major releases after what it launched with, Google’s first Pixel is still running quite well. Another thing worth noting is that Android Q in this test is still an early beta, so the fact that it keeps up with the other versions is actually fairly promising.